(Yicai Global) Aug. 3 -- Huawei, China's biggest telecoms equipment maker, beat expectations for its first half smartphone sales this year by selling 95 million handsets, gaining 22 percent on the year.

The Shenzhen-based firm had been aiming to sell 180,000 units this year, but the early windfall could see sales top 200,000, Richard Yu, chief executive of Huawei Consumer Business Group, said at a performance conference.

Huawei shone in the second quarter, shifting more than 54 million handsets to overtake Apple as the world's largest phone manufacturer after Samsung. The Chinese firm captured a 16 percent market share, compared with Apple's 12 percent and the sector leader's 21 percent.

"We will exceed 40 percent [market share] in China," Yu said. "For the global market, we aim to get to 20 percent and then rise to 30 percent over the following three to five years. But we're not that concerned about market share. We're not interested in products priced below USD150. We're after user experience, reputation and high-quality growth."

The increase in sales at home paled in comparison to international growth, largely due to a sector-wide decline of 7 percent -- testifying to the over ripening of China's smartphone market which saw annual shipments slide for the first time last year. Huawei was the only manufacturer to buck the trend, boosting sales by 37 percent on the year.

Overseas, the firm flourished in Europe, where sales grew 73 percent. It also had solid growth in the United States (52 percent) and the Asia Pacific (46 percent).

"In future, only two to three mainstream players will be left in the smartphone market," Yu continued. "Competition is fierce and Huawei must push forward or we'll fall behind. We need good products, or we'll be eliminated."

Editor: James Boynton